Chinese milk buns Wei Bo. Mantou or Simple Steamed Buns - Chinese Cuisine Taiwanese Steamed Buns Gao Bao Recipe

Usually buns are baked in the oven, but steaming them is something new! However, this is not new at all, since the recipe has been used for centuries in Germany, China, and other countries. What’s interesting is that you don’t need an oven at all, and these steamed products turn out tender and plump. And, importantly, dietary. The calorie content of the products is low. Unless, of course, you use them with fillings. And they are served with them.

German recipe

The Germans have been baking steamed buns since 1811, maybe even earlier. In Bavaria, for example, they make these delicacies with the addition of milk and sugar. The result is products with a fragrant caramel crust. However, everything is in order.

First, place the yeast in 75 grams of milk. and add a spoonful of flour and sugar there too. Let it sit in a warm place for about 15 minutes. Then mix this mash with milk, flour, sugar, butter and egg, turning it into dough. And let it stand for a couple of hours under cling film so that it does not get too windy. A good batch will double in size. Make 8-10 buns and leave them for 10-15 minutes under the film.

In the meantime, let's prepare a sweet “surprise”: mix the milk with sugar and pour it into a frying pan greased with butter. This is where we will place our buns, but not tightly to each other, they will still grow. And over low heat, bake the buns covered for half an hour.

We do not open the lid even when the time is up. Otherwise, the products will settle. Let it sit covered for another five minutes. And now they are ready. They may seem raw in appearance, but once they dry out slightly, a crust will appear. These delicacies are eaten with jam, chocolate or nut spread. And they are great with condensed milk.

Chinese steamed buns

Cute products with a delicate texture go well with both meat dishes and jam as a dessert. In China they are called mantou. Making scones is surprisingly easy. But you need to take into account one little secret - there should be as few air bubbles in the dough as possible. Ingredients:

0.5 kg. flour;
220 gr. water;
6 gr. dry yeast.

Calorie content: about 434 Kcal/100 g.

You can also add a pinch of salt, but the classic recipe does not contain this ingredient. Sift the flour and dissolve the yeast in one hundred grams of water. And then we combine it all, gradually adding water. The dough will be tough, but that's how it should be.

You need to knead until completely mixed, and then let the dough rest for about 15 minutes. Knead again, then let it rise for 2 hours. During this time, the mass will essentially double. And then we do the most important thing - we keep a small but important secret.

It consists of “expelling” all air bubbles from the dough. If you have a press for making noodles, then everything is simpler. You need to push the dough through this press, that's all. And if this device is not available, a rolling pin and hands are used.

You need to roll out the dough thinly several times. Fold it and roll it out again. As a result, you will be able to expel most of the bubbles. Next, we make 8-10 buns and place them in a steamer on oiled parchment paper.

Let stand for 15 minutes and steam. Under the lid, of course. We wait 15-20 minutes. The buns are ready! But don’t rush to open the lid. Wait about five minutes so that the products do not settle.

Chinese stuffed rice buns

In fact, rice buns can be made from regular wheat flour. But we will give a recipe made specifically from rice flour. The difference is small, except that the rice product will be whiter and more tender. You will definitely need to prepare oiled baking paper. Ingredients:

1.5 tbsp. wheat or rice flour;
1 tsp dry yeast;
a pinch of baking powder;
2 tsp. Sahara;
salt - a pinch;
1 tbsp. l. starch;
1 tbsp. l. refined oil;
250 gr. beef;
1 onion and a couple of cloves of garlic;
1 ginger root;
1 tbsp. l. soy sauce.

Cooking time: 3 hours.

Calorie content: about 545 Kcal/100 g.

Place the yeast in warm water and wait 15 minutes. Mix flour, baking powder and half the sugar, add yeast. You will get a stiff dough. Finely chop the beef, ginger, and onion and fry for a couple of minutes over high heat, seasoning everything with soy sauce.

At the end, pour the starch dissolved in a couple of spoons of water into the wog, where the filling is fried, to form a mass in a thick sauce. Roll out the dough into circles in any way you like. And we make these “pies” that are pinched at the top.

Now we need to place our products at some distance from each other, because they will increase. Close the lid and steam for 15 minutes in a double boiler or on regular stands placed on the pan. Then turn off the heat, but do not lift the lid for another five minutes. Finish, you can try the delicacy.

It is worth adding that the Chinese do not always put only meat in buns. It could be soy porridge, or even a sweet meat filling. So, you can fantasize and experiment with different ingredients.

Korean steamed buns

These buns are called Pyan-se in Korea. The classic is when it has pork and cabbage inside. But there are also mushrooms and fish, and completely vegetarian ones with vegetables. In essence, these are “pies”, only very tender, not fried, and not aggressive to the stomach. For anyone who is on a diet or is protecting their stomach, we recommend preparing this Korean dish. Ingredients:

3 tbsp. flour;
0.5 tsp. salt;
2 tbsp. l. refined oil;
1 tbsp. warm water;
400 gr. minced pork;
1 tsp. sesame oil;
2 cloves of garlic and a pinch of pepper;
0.5 carrots;
0.5 zucchini;
1 onion;
4-5 pcs. champignons;
2 tbsp. l. soy sauce;
a bunch of green onions.

Cooking time: 3 hours.

Calorie content: about 530 Kcal/100 g.

Dissolve salt in oil, yeast in water. And then mix everything with flour and knead the dough. Let it rise for about 15 minutes, knead again and leave for an hour or two. In the meantime, let's get started with the filling. Fry minced meat with soy sauce in oil. Vegetables and mushrooms separately – chop and fry. Then combine with meat.

Roll out the adze and add the filling without sparing. It’s better to pinch it like khinkali on top. It doesn’t matter what size the products are, the main thing is that they fit well in the steamer. They are ready in 15 minutes and eaten even faster.

Vietnamese buns Banh Bao

Banh bao buns are a Vietnamese fast food that is sold on every corner in this country. Easy to prepare. Ingredients:

0.5 kg. flour;
250 ml. milk;
100 gr. Sahara;
2 tsp each baking powder and dry yeast;
2 tbsp. l. refined oils;
0.5 tsp. salt;
400 gr. minced pork;
30 gr. dried mushrooms;
1 onion and 2 shallots;
3 cloves of garlic;
1 tbsp. l. starch;
1 tbsp. l. oyster sauce;
3 boiled chicken eggs and 7 boiled quail eggs.

Cooking time: 3 hours.

Calorie content: about 288 Kcal/100 g.

Knead the dough in the usual way, starting with the dough. That is, we put yeast, a little flour and sugar into the milk and put it in a warm place for 15 minutes. And then mix the dough with flour, remaining sugar and baking powder. The dough usually doubles in size within two hours. And it can be kneaded again between the first and second hour. While the dough is rising, make the filling.

Fry the minced meat with oyster sauce (can be replaced with soy sauce), finely chopped onion, and garlic. We dilute the starch in water and add it to the prepared minced meat. We soak the mushrooms and fry them separately, and then combine them with the minced meat. Cut boiled eggs into slices. Now we form the pies.

Place minced meat on thinly rolled flatbreads and a slice of boiled egg – chicken and quail – on top. We pinch and place the pies in a steamer. Steam over low heat for 15 minutes. And after another five minutes, open the lid and serve.

Jamie Oliver's recipe for coconut buns

There is nothing easier than preparing these tender and fragrant buns in a double boiler. This doesn't require much. Ingredients:

400 gr. coconut milk;
700 gr. flour;
1 pack of baking powder.

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Calorie content: about 250 Kcal/100 g.

Pour the milk into a bowl, add the sifted flour and baking powder. Knead the dough. Place it in parchment paper cupcake tins. But let’s put it not in the oven, but in a double boiler. Usually makes 8 buns. Steam for 15 minutes. And everything is ready! Such products should be served with jams, condensed milk or special sauces, or dishes of Japanese and Chinese cuisine.

The recipes for steamed buns are the same, but everyone makes them differently. Why is this happening? And all because there are some secrets that you need to know about. Here they are:

Flour should always be sifted. Then the dough will be fluffy and tender. Because during the sifting process, the flour is saturated with air;
It is always more convenient to knead yeast dough if you grease your hands with vegetable oil;
The dough must be kneaded in a clean bowl, because it absorbs foreign odors and tastes very well, but we don’t need this;
Before pinching the pies, it is better to season the edges of the dough with a little water;
Never add salt to the dough. It must be added to the flour, or better yet, mixed with vegetable oil before adding it to the flour. The fact is that yeast does not like salt, and close contact should be avoided.

And one more tip on how to properly clean everything after cooking. For example, after the test, the dishes are first washed with cold water and only then with warm or hot water.

Chinese cuisine is as varied as any other. Next to savory, spicy appetizers and spicy hot soups are dishes with neutral taste. For example, steamed mantou buns. At first glance, this is an ordinary steamed donut made from yeast dough. But in fact, if you do not know the intricacies of preparation, instead of a round, elastic bun, you may end up with a wrinkled bun, the taste of which is far from ideal. It turns out that it’s all about kneading and further preparing the dough. Firstly, the dough for mantou is made stiff, like on. Secondly, Chinese steamed buns differ from ordinary yeast baked goods in the fine-meshed structure of the dough. And this is achieved by thorough kneading. When cut, such dough should contain practically no voids filled with air. If housewives, when making any dough with yeast, care for it and cherish it, then for mantou buns it is diligently beaten, and the pieces themselves are carefully rolled out between the palms or rolled on the table to release the air. Mantou buns can be prepared for future use. To do this, the cooled buns need to be wrapped in film and placed in the freezer. Before eating, the buns are steamed in a double boiler, slow cooker or pressure cooker.

Ingredients:

water – 1 tbsp.;
sugar – 2 tsp;
dry yeast – 1.5 tsp;
flour – 400 g;
salt – 1 tsp;
vegetable oil for greasing the bowl.

For the sauce:

garlic – 4 cloves;
paprika – 1 tsp;
red pepper - to taste;
soy sauce – 2 tbsp. l.

Pour water heated to body temperature into a bowl, add yeast, salt and sugar. Stir until the yeast is completely dissolved. Add flour.

Using a wooden spatula, stir the flour and water until it has absorbed all the liquid. Stir in a circular motion in one direction, then in the future it will be much easier for you to knead the dough.

Then start kneading the dough with your hands, trying to make it homogeneous, without any flour lumps.

Leave the dough in a bowl, cover it with cling film, and place in a warm place to rise. The dough is steep, so it will take at least two hours to rise.

Then punch down the dough, knead it again, and let it rise again.

Place the risen dough on the table, divide into pieces the size of a large chicken egg. From this amount of dough you will get approximately 14 pieces.

Knead each piece of dough in your hands, making a flat cake out of it.

Fold the edges of the flatbread towards the middle, gathering the dough into an improvised knot.

Then turn the crumpet over with the folds down. Thus form all the blanks, cover them with a towel so as not to dry out, and proceed to the next stage - forming the buns.

Take the donut in your palm and cover it with your other palm. Start rolling the ball between your palms, using as much effort as possible so that the dough gets rid of air and becomes dense.

Do the same with the rest of the dough.

Place the buns in a steamer bowl, pre-greased with oil, leaving gaps between them, since the buns will increase in volume during the cooking process. Cover the container with a towel and leave for half an hour to rise.

Fill the tank with very hot water to the maximum level. Place containers filled with semi-finished products on top of each other and close with a lid. Steam the buns in a steamer for 25 minutes.

While the products are cooking, prepare a delicious sauce.

Place the pressed garlic, red pepper and paprika into a cup. Add soy sauce. Mix well.

When the steamer turns off, do not remove the lid for another 5-7 minutes, otherwise the temperature change may cause the buns to wrinkle.

The surface of the freshly prepared buns is a little sticky, but then they dry out and stop sticking to your hands.

To prevent the buns from becoming chapped and to remain soft, remove them from the steamer as needed.

If the blanks are made in the form of a bun, then the finished Chinese buns have a perfect round shape. They come out firm on the outside but soft on the inside.

They can be served with tea, dipped in honey or condensed milk, or with soup instead of bread.

Soy sauce with garlic goes great with these buns. Bon appetit!!!

Sincerely, Alina Stanislavovna.

Only I know how much I was tormented by the question... how do the Chinese make such dough. How do they make the baozi dough so smooth, white and finely porous? I tried to make such dough at least five times according to a variety of Chinese recipes and all in vain - the result was ordinary yeast steamed buns, which immediately became wet from the steam and their appearance was completely unpresentable. And then, quite by accident, I bought a book in an ordinary supermarket. The book is called "Simple Kitchen". And I had a revelation :) - before steaming, the yeast dough is kneaded so that not a single bubble remains there. In general, first things first. First, I will share the recipe for the basic dough for simple steamed buns - 馒头 (mántou) mantou. All steamed baked goods (if you can call it that) are made from this basic dough. Classic baozi with meat filling are also made using this dough. The Chinese came up with a lot of buns of different shapes and colors from it. Well, you can’t add much flavor, the dough is a little bland, but you can come up with different shapes and color combinations (adding pumpkin puree as a dye, for example) is very possible.

The recipe is extremely simple. You need 500g flour, 220g water, 6g dry or 8g fresh yeast. I added another pinch of salt so that it wouldn't be too bland. But there are nuances in preparing the dough.

First you need to take 100g of water and stir the yeast in it until it is completely dissolved. Then pour this yeast mixture into the flour and stir. Add the rest of the water little by little and knead the dough. Knead until all the flour is absorbed. The dough is very steep and difficult to knead. But there is no need to add more water. Once kneaded, leave to rest for 15 minutes in a bowl with a lid.

Then take out the dough, knead well again and leave to rise for 2-3 hours. Or until it doubles in volume (it took me about an hour).

The next step is to get rid of any bubbles that have formed in the dough. To do this, you can use a noodle cutter - in the dough rolling mode, you need to pass the dough through the press 5-6 times. If you don’t have a noodle cutter, you can simply roll out the dough thinly several times with a rolling pin, folding the layer and rolling it out again. The dough turns white and becomes smooth. The result should be a ball of dough with almost no bubbles. I still had some bubbles. I didn't know the exact stage. Next time I will knead longer. The fewer bubbles in the dough, the better the result.

Next, roll out the dough into a long rope and cut into 16 pieces. Or we weigh the buns, as I did - 44-45 grams each. We form the buns, leave them to proof for about 20 minutes on a board (to prevent them from becoming airy, cover them either with film or with a light, slightly damp towel). To proof, I immediately placed the buns in a steamer, having previously lined the bottom with baking paper.

Cook on low for a couple of minutes 15-20. I have a regular bamboo steamer. I put the pan on the fire. As soon as the water boils, I start the fire small. On top of the pan I place a bamboo double boiler with the buns already placed. Cover on top. While cooking, do not open the lid. After 15-20 minutes, turn off the heat.

Open the lid 3-5 minutes after turning off the heat. This is a must. Otherwise, the buns may become wrinkled. Let cool completely. When hot, they are slightly sticky, like the crumb of hot fresh bread.

Another convenience is that these buns can be frozen. Once cooled, stand for 10 minutes, place on a board, cover with film, and place in the freezer. Then just take it out of the freezer and steam it for literally a couple of minutes.

In restaurants, the Chinese sometimes serve these buns along with a saucer of condensed milk. You tear the bun into two parts and eat it, dipping it in condensed milk. Simple and tasteful :)

Baozi are steamed Chinese pastries with a variety of fillings. Like most Chinese dishes, this dish has a centuries-old history.

According to legend, the dish was invented by a Chinese military leader back in the 2nd-3rd century AD. According to one version of the legend, while on a military campaign in southern China, the military commander’s army suffered greatly from illness. The sages decided that only a human sacrifice, offered as a gift to the gods, can save from this scourge. But the military leader decided to act mercifully and ordered a pie made from dough with meat filling, which was offered to the gods instead of his people.

Prepare your ingredients. Baozi can be prepared with different fillings, but today we will prepare the classic meat filling of pork and green onions.

Cut the meat into small pieces and chop. For the filling you can use either ready-made minced meat or chopped meat.

Grate the ginger root. Heat some vegetable oil in a frying pan and add grated ginger.

After a few seconds, add the minced meat to the pan.

Mix ginger with minced meat and add a little water to the pan. Water is needed so that the minced meat separates faster and better.

Add soy sauce, mirin (or sherry, white wine), salt, pepper to the pan. If using dry white wine, add an additional 1-2 pinches of sugar.

Simmer the meat over the fire until it is softened and the liquid has almost evaporated.

Chop 1-2 cloves of garlic. Dissolve starch in 1 tbsp. cold water. Add starch and garlic to the filling and mix well.

Once the remaining seasonings and juices have thickened and been absorbed, turn off the heat and leave the filling to cool. Taste the meat and add seasonings and spices to taste if necessary. In China they add a flavor enhancer, but I preferred to add 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce.

While the filling is cooling, let's make the dough. To make Baozi pies airy and light, they are used for steaming, the recipe for which is on our website.

Knead the dough prepared according to the basic recipe and divide it into 4 parts.

Roll each part into small sausages with a diameter of 2-3 centimeters and divide into 6 parts.

Roll out each piece of dough, holding it in the center with your fingers, into a circle with a diameter of 12–15 cm so that the middle of the circle is thicker than the edges.

Add chopped green onions to the cooled meat. It is important that the meat is cool enough before you add the onions and start shaping the baozi. If the filling is too hot, the onions will release juice and the dough may become soggy.

Place 1 tbsp. filling into the center of the rolled out circle and, pinching, connect the edges of the dough, and give the pie a “bag” shape. I won’t lie: only a chef experienced in working with dough can give baozi a traditional shape, which, unfortunately, I am not yet. Fortunately, no matter whether you get a traditional Chinese or a simpler “pouch”, this will not negatively affect the taste of the dish.

Cut the parchment paper into small squares.

Place the formed pies on pieces of parchment paper and place in a steaming pan. Leave some space between the pies as they will increase in size during cooking.

Do not rush to put the pies into the steamer; let the dough rise again, leaving the baozi to stand for 20 to 60 minutes. Here, as long as you have enough patience, the better the baozi rises, the more porous the dough will be and the airier the pies will be.

Steam the Baozi cakes for 15 minutes, and then leave for another 5 minutes with the lid closed.

Chinese Baozi cakes are ready. You can serve.